FALMOUTH — Mike Dunham, the former University of Maine and National Hockey League goalie, has been involved in golf his entire life.

Dunham played in the first two rounds of the New England Amateur at the Falmouth Country Club.

Dunham, 40, who lives in Concord, Mass., shot 76-74 — 150 to miss the 36-hole cut.

Dunham, the goalie coach for the New York Islanders, enjoys his summers playing in tournaments before heading to Long Island and his job.

“Hockey was my passion but golf was the family business, so to speak,” said Dunham. “My dad is a golf pro. I grew up (in Binghamton, N.Y.) cleaning clubs and washing carts. I was always around golf. I played a lot in the offseason. That’s why you see so many hockey players playing golf. We need something to do in the summers besides working out.”

Dunham’s dad, Ron, is the director of golf at Teton Pines Country Club in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Dunham estimates this is his fifth or sixth New England Amateur. He played in the Massachusetts Open last week.

“One of my first New England Amateurs was in 2006 at The Woodlands. Near the end of my career I started playing in tournaments. When I retired it gave me something to do competitively,” he said.

The Islanders have turned into kind of a UMaine South. Other Black Bears with the team are Garth Snow, the general manager, and Jack Capuano, the head coach.

On Wednesday, Scott Pellerin, another former UMaine standout, was named the head coach of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the team’s AHL affiliate.

“We all had success at Maine, went our separate ways and enjoyed long careers in hockey. It’s something we know and have done all of our lives. Now we’re trying to do something on the coaching and management ends. It’s still fun to be active in hockey,” said Dunham.

“You can’t play forever. That’s why we coach and why I play golf.”

Dunham carries a plus-1 golf handicap.

Staff Writer Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at tchard@pressherald.com

Twitter: TomChardPPH